Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of orthodontics and more particularly to a method and apparatus for conforming an orthodontic band to the peripheral contour of an individual tooth.
Orthodontia is a highly developed art with a typical treatment sequence including the forming of an impression of the patient's teeth and then forming a replica of those teeth from the impression. In some treatment procedures the replica of the entire set of teeth may then be separated into individual teeth and those individual teeth rearranged into the preferred or intended resulting configuration. Orthodontic bands of approximately the correct size are formed by hand to the configuration of certain of the teeth, brackets attached to those orthodontic bands and the bands placed in the patient's mouth on those teeth to receive an archwire stressed in a manner to urge the respective teeth toward the preferred arrangement. In such a typical process the forming of blank bands to conform to the desired contour of an individual tooth is a time consuming and expensive hand process.
Similar hand forming of orthodontic bands has been heretofore required in implementing variations on the above general orthodontic procedure such as the "Method and Apparatus for Orthodontic Treatment" disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 561,697 filed Mar. 25, 1975.